gluten-free & dairy-free recipes

Menu

Satisfying, fresh and simple to prepare, serve this antipasto salad at your next soirée.

It was around this time last year that I visited Thailand. Several breathtaking days were spent in Phuket and touring the exquisite Phi Phi Islands. The movie, The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio helped make these islands especially famous (which I’m sure many of the locals are now cursing). The most well-known beach, “Maya Bay” is home to a few rangers who help to protect the land.

Some of the best snorkelling can also be experienced here and monkey viewing if you’re into that. Monkeys can be seen from the shores of Monkey Beach. Sadly, these animals have become somewhat reliant on boating tourists to feed them. Our guide informed us that visitors will throw food and even bottles of beer and soda onto the beach.

Astonishingly, these little guys have even learned to open bottles. I was glad to see that some of the guides are discouraging it and are trying to educate travellers on such actions.

After exploring and sampling many of the local tasty and fragrant foods, the remainder of the trip was spent in Bangkok which was like going from zero to 100 in seconds, but that’s a whole other story…

For the most part, I like to think I demonstrate a healthy measure of self-control. For instance, I’ve learned to avoid getting groceries while ravenous and that shopping for a new wardrobe after consuming a few cocktails is not always the brightest idea (although that leather jacket really does go with everything).

But catch me in the checkout aisles of a certain department store where the latest “As Seen On TV” culinary tools and toys are displayed, and I’m put to the test. I mean, who can honestly resist a vegetable spiralizer named The Veggetti?